Kesen 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

 

     Sasaki Saburozaemon of Takata Village organized the Kesen 33 Kannon Pilgrimage in Kesen County, Mutsu Province, in 1718 as a memorial service for his late parents.

     Kesen County was first documented in 811.  It became independent from Momunofu County, which had been organized sometime between 757 and 771.

     Many powerful samurai were killed in conspiracy by Izumida Shigemitsu (1529-1596) and Yashiro Kageyori (1563-1608), the vassals of Date Masamune (1567-1636), in Nukazuka Fort at Sueyama, Momunofu County, Mutsu Province, in 1590.  Ishinomaki Shiritsu Kananhigashi Junior High School is located in the site of the fort.

     Saburozaemon could have been the offspring of the victims of the slaughter.

     The Kesen area was badly damaged by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and its tsunami, and the pilgrimage and its member temples are still under recovery and reconstruction.

Ishinomaki Shiritsu Kananhigashi Junior High School

Address: Nukazuka-3-3 Sue, Ishinomaki, Miyagi 987-1221